ACCESS TO DATA

Bringing the Electricity Grid into the Information Age

A 21st Century Electricity System Issue Brief

By Advanced Energy Economy

April 9, 2018 (Updated)

San Francisco | Washington D.C. | Boston

aee.net | powersuite.aee.net | @aeenet
ABOUT ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMY
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is a national association of businesses and business leaders who are
making the global energy system more secure, clean and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses
a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting
energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth
of advanced energy businesses. AEE and its State Partner organizations are active in 26 states across
the country, representing roughly 1,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy industry.
Visit www.aee.net for more information.

ABOUT THIS ISSUE BRIEF

The U.S. utility sector has entered a period of foundational change not seen since the restructuring of
the late 1990s. Change is being driven by new technologies, evolving customer needs and desires,
environmental imperatives, and an increased focus on grid resiliency. With these developments come
challenges, but also new opportunities
to create an energy system that meets the changing
expectations of consumers and society for the coming decades. We call this the 21st Century Electricity
System: a high-performing, customer-focused electricity system that is efficient, flexible, resilient,
reliable, affordable, safe, secure, and clean. A successful transition to a 21st Century Electricity System
requires careful consideration of a range of interrelated issues that will ultimately redefine the
regulatory framework and utility business model while creating new opportunities for third-party
providers and customers to contribute to the operation of the electricity system.

To support this transition, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) has prepared several issue briefs that are
intended to be a resource for regulators, policymakers, and other interested parties as they tackle
issues arising in the rapidly evolving electric power regulatory and business landscape.1 This issue brief
on Access to Data lays out why and how access to data is integral to enabling a high-performing
modern grid, describes several potential obstacles and questions that utilities and regulators should
consider in implementing improved data access, and makes recommendations on the best path
forward.2

Page | i
SUMMARY
Data is the lifeblood of today’s economy.
Timely and convenient access to granular
customer and electricity system data is critical
to support the development of a modern grid.
Such access allows utilities and competitive
suppliers to optimize offers and enables
individual customers and their designated
third-party providers to better manage energy
use, consider distributed energy resource (DER)
options, reduce costs, and participate in utility
demand management programs and emerging
transactive energy markets.3 In addition,
providing third parties with access to
anonymized, aggregated customer data and
electricity system data is critical to enabling
these companies to design and offer products
and services that will benefit utility customers,
and the electricity grid as a whole.
In order to accelerate data sharing by utilities,
policymakers should adopt regulations that
enable a data-rich environment that
encourages and empowers customers and third
parties to use energy billing, system, and usage
data. At the same time, such regulations must
provide for appropriate protections of private
customer-specific data, personally identifiable
information (PII), as well as system data.
AEE believes that data must be available in
three basic ways to allow customers the
greatest control and benefits:
1. A standardized data exchange, such as the
Department of Energy’s Green Button
Connect My Data (if fully and completely
implemented), is the most scalable way to
provide individual customer data to
customers and customer-authorized third
parties.
2. In states with retail open access, bill-quality
data for billing of energy is necessary,
preferably through Electronic Data
Interchanges (EDIs).
3. Aggregated, anonymized customer data,
system data and grid planning data
should be made available on an as-
requested basis, as part of targeted utility
solicitations for DER solutions, or as part of
broader efforts to make such data
continuously available so that the market
can better develop customer offerings and
propose solutions that the utility may not
realize are available. For example,
California is developing online feeder maps
as part of that state’s effort to more fully
integrate DER on the grid. Information
should be provided that allows third parties
to make meaningful bids without
compromising the security of the grid.
Regulations should incentivize utilities to raise
customers’ awareness and understanding of
their ability to access their own data, how to
authorize third parties to access the data, and
how they can use this data to reduce their
energy usage and costs. In addition, utilities
should streamline the customer and third-party
authorization process for release of data to
ensure robust participation in any data
exchange. Strong security protocols must be
utilized to protect and secure customer and
electric system data from bad actors trying to
Page | 1
do harm. If done properly these various data
access efforts can stimulate job-creating
innovation, lead to the development of new
products and services, animate the DER
market, provide benefits to the electricity
system, enhance customer choice, and support
the transition to a modern grid.
Regulators should also consider what data
should be made available to customers and
their authorized agents as part of the general
cost to serve customers, and what data and
related data services should be considered
value-added services for which customers or
third parties would pay separate fees, which
could help reduce the costs to customers who
do not avail themselves of such data. In
considering this issue, regulators should factor
in that customer use of energy management
strategies enabled by access to data can
provide benefits beyond the participating
customer itself and can benefit non-participants
and the grid as a whole.
It is important to note that these issues are the
same as those that have been successfully
addressed in other industries, including
telecommunications, banking, travel and health
care, where greater access to data is
transforming the way companies in those
industries do business. We expect the same will
be true of electricity.
Distributed Energy Resources
AEE defines DER broadly to include distributed generation of all types (e.g., combined heat and power, solar
photovoltaics, small wind, fuel cells), energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage, electric vehicles and
the associated electric vehicle supply equipment, and microgrids. As such, it includes options for generating
electricity, but also for managing how much and when electricity is used.
There is a real opportunity for the multiple
benefits of data for individual customers and
the electric power system as a whole to be
realized if the following steps are taken:
1. Adopt foundational regulations and
technologies that enable a data-rich
environment
2. Promote universal interface standards to
exchange data between utilities, customers,
retail suppliers, and third parties
3. Incentivize utilities to raise customer
awareness and understanding of data’s
potential to reduce energy usage and costs
4. Develop strong security protocols to
protect and secure customer and electric
system data from unauthorized access and
use
5. Streamline the customer and third-party
authorization process to enable robust
participation
6. Define basic data and charges associated
with value-added data services
Regulators should also consider establishing an
ongoing process to evaluate the effectiveness
of data access policies in meeting the intended
goals.
Page | 2
THE INCREASING VALUE OF DATA
Improved access to data, coupled with the
growing ability to analyze and act upon it, are
driving change and stimulating innovation in
every industry. The electric utility industry is no
different, although arguably it has lagged
behind other sectors. Access to energy usage
data is critical for:
1. Helping customers track and manage their
energy use
2. Helping utilities and competitive suppliers
to develop new and innovative customer
offerings and dynamic rate structures
3. Empowering third-party (non-utility)
companies to support the transition to a
modern grid
4. Enabling utilities to transition to a more
customer-focused culture and business
model
Historically, most electric meters were read
monthly, severely limiting the actionable data
available. Today, with over 50% of U.S.
households having electric meters with
advanced metering functionality,4 tens of
millions of customers now have meters that can
collect granular usage data and transmit that
data to the utility. Utilities and regional market
operators are collecting the data, but the key is
making it available in a timely, usable manner,
whether directly to customers, their designated
third-party providers, or competitive retail
suppliers. The data can also be provided in
anonymized, aggregated form to third parties
to facilitate development of new products and
services. At the same time, making electricity
system data more readily available promises to
unlock additional value from DER by targeting
deployment of these resources in constrained
areas of the grid and enabling the provision of
new services to customers and utilities that lead
to benefits greater than those provided by
traditional utility investments.
Once the data is made available, it becomes
possible to offer customers actionable insights
and products that will drive customer behavior
and investment in DER that will benefit
customers and the grid as a whole. That makes
data access a foundational requirement for
maximizing the benefits from the substantial
investments utilities have made in advanced
metering infrastructure (AMI), as well as
investments in DER by customers and the
advanced energy industry. Modernizing rates is
also a critical element. In particular, time-
varying rates, which rely on granular data, can
create compelling value propositions for
customers to invest in DER and energy
management options that have them reduce
their energy use when it matters most to the
grid, lowering the costs of the system overall.
When customers have access to data they will
also be able to access new technologies in ways
that fit their lifestyle.
The current inability of many third parties to
access data authorized by their customers is a
barrier to fully realizing the benefits of an
animated DER marketplace. Without a
standardized way to access data, companies
are forced to figure out how each utility stores
Page | 3
and makes their data available or must install
their own redundant metering on a customer
premise to track individual customer loads. In
addition, without data, investments in DER and
energy management systems are done without
full accounting of the costs and benefits they
generate for the utility system as a whole.
Improved data access will help to optimize and
maximize these customer-driven investments to
the benefit of all ratepayers.
At the same time, utilities should be
encouraged to work with third parties. While
MAKING DATA AVAILABLE TO
DRIVE INNOVATION
As noted above, data access takes three basic
forms: (i) customer-specific data that can be
securely accessed in a timely manner by such
customers, their electricity suppliers, and their
designated third-party service providers, (ii)
aggregated, anonymized customer data that
can be accessed directly by third-party
providers, and (iii) utility system data made
available to third-party providers. Each has its
place in a modern electricity system.
Customer-specific usage data – including daily,
hourly, sub-hourly, and near real-time data –
will enable new third-party products to be
developed and offered to customers. While
larger customers may want to track their own
energy use, the overwhelming majority of
customers need and want utilities, competitive
suppliers, and/or third parties to process their
usage data and provide actionable insights.
With granular customer usage data, an energy
some data should be provided at no cost to
animate the marketplace, continuous streams
of customer data provided to third parties can
have significant value. Third parties and utilities
should work to identify the needed services,
and regulators should encourage the
development of appropriate fees so that third
parties, who are developing products and
services, can also contribute to the utility‘s data
systems that they are using and benefitting
from.
efficiency company can more accurately tailor
its services and recommendations to target
customers; a solar photovoltaic installer can
better pinpoint which customers would benefit
most from a rooftop array and where that array
would most benefit the grid; a retail supplier
can offer pricing based on individual usage
profiles to optimize the energy market for the
consumer; and a demand response company
can identify the best demand response
candidates and provide more actionable
feedback on customer energy usage to help the
customer save money while benefitting all
customers by reducing the system’s peak
demand.
Customer-specific data can also mean data
commonly found on a utility bill, such as
account numbers, meter numbers, rate class,
location on the grid, and retail providers used.
This information may be necessary to map the
Page | 4
customer to their location on the grid or ensure
that the customer is in a rate class that would
enable them to participate in a third-party or
utility program, or the wholesale market.
Customer-specific data, of course, must be
protected. Regulators should adopt reasonable
standards that apply to third parties in
exchange for accessing customer and system
information. Third parties should be required to
maintain the security of the data from
unauthorized access or use, have appropriate
cyber security protections in place, and have
plans in place in the event of a breach of
customer data. Once a customer has authorized
access to its data by a third party, utilities
should not be liable for data breaches resulting
from a third party’s actions. Customer data is
also used by utility-contracted agents, such as
energy efficiency providers, for program
implementation or evaluation, such as verifying
reductions in energy use from energy efficiency
programs.5
Making aggregated, anonymized customer
data and appropriate system-wide data
available to third-party companies in a timely
manner will enable them to identify and offer
more cost-effective alternatives to traditional
utility infrastructure investments for the benefit
of customers and the grid. Aggregated,
anonymized customer data can help third-party
companies develop new and innovative
products and services that apply broadly to
targeted customer classes or locations.
In addition, system data – such as information
on circuit-level distributed generation (DG)
hosting capacity or locations of the grid with
capacity constraints (load pockets) or power
quality problems – can help DER providers
determine the best places to locate DER and
respond to system needs with cost-effective
DER solutions. This could include geo-targeting
customers for energy efficiency services or
strategically locating energy storage assets so
they can sell load reduction as a service to
utilities in lieu of the utility making expensive
infrastructure upgrades. Regulators must
balance the need to protect information related
to system infrastructure with the need for third
parties to have adequate information available
so as to provide meaningful bids in response to
utility solicitations to provide required services.
In addition, improved data access more
generally will allow customers to fully benefit
from all the economic benefits of DER through
demand response, market responsive pricing,
and proper settlement based on time of
production/usage prices.
Page | 5
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
While the benefits of increased data access are
clear and numerous, there are several key
questions to consider to ensure smooth
implementation of data access policies and
regulations:
ž What can be done to enable robust
participation by customer-authorized third
parties in the marketplace?
ž How can utilities and policymakers increase
understanding and engagement among
industry participants and end-use
customers?
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
IMPROVED DATA ACCESS
The regulated electricity industry has fallen
behind other industries when it comes to
utilizing and making data available to engage
customers and create new products and
services. Experience from early adopting states
suggests that the following recommendations
can help regulators, policymakers, and utilities
design and implement a process that best fits
their specific needs and circumstances.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Policymakers should implement foundational
policies to enable a data-rich energy
environment as soon as possible. Policymakers
and regulators should then direct utilities that
have not already done so to submit a business
ž What types and granularity of data should
be made available?
ž What regulations, privacy standards, and
authorization processes are needed to
ensure consumer privacy and confidence?
ž Should utilities be allowed to charge third
parties for access to data, and if so, when
and on what basis?
ž How will success be measured (i.e., what are
the criteria that matter?
case for deployment of AMI to enable the
availability of granular energy usage data.
DATA EXCHANGE
INFRASTRUCTURE
Once utilities have collected the necessary
data, they should implement a system that has
the capability to provide this data to customers,
their retail suppliers (as applicable), and
customer-designated third parties. The most
scalable way to provide this information to
customers and then subsequently to third
parties is by a data exchange standard across
all utilities. Green Button and Green Button
Connect (see box below) are the leading
standards for this purpose. AEE believes that
Page | 6
they are the appropriate standards to use and
that utilities should begin to implement them
fully. Already, over 50 utilities and electricity
suppliers use Green Button and over 60 million
households and businesses have the ability to
use Green Button.
Benefits will only be realized if customers can
easily take advantage of this access. Regulators
should also create rules that enable standard
utility implementation of Green Button across
their state. To address inconsistencies in
implementation, the Green Button Alliance has
commenced a testing-and-certification process
to make it easier for a utility to ensure its Green
Button implementation complies with the
Green Button standard, while also assuring that
developers can write a single application that
can work across utilities. Utilities should work
with the Green Button Alliance to ensure that
their implementations of Green Button are fully
compliant with the standard.

Green Button
Green Button was established—after a White House call-to-action in 2011—as a technical standard to provide
utility customers with access to their energy usage information. Specifically, it is an information exchange
standard, which ensures that usage and/or billing data (regardless of the utility) is accessible in a standardized
format.6 Green Button is also known as the Energy Service Provider Interface (ESPI), established by the North
American Energy Standards Board's (NAESB) REQ 21. Green Button currently has two programs:

Green Button Download My Data provides a standardized format for customers to digitally download usage
data. Once downloaded, the data can be analyzed or shared with a third party.

Green Button Connect My Data provides an easy way for end users to grant authorization to a third party to
retrieve customer data directly from the utility’s website. Since the third party must meet technical and security
requirements in order to interconnect with the utility server, the data is in a more controlled and secure
environment than Green Button Download My Data.

Early Adopters
In 2015, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) launched its Green Button Connect “Share My Data” program, which
allows customers to authorize access to their usage and billing data through a third party’s website. With it, PG&E
customers no longer have to log in to download and share their energy usage files. Instead, once authorized,
the system automatically packages customer data, informs the authorized third-party businesses and securely
sends it out. Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric have also deployed Green Button.

Similarly, with the launch of Green Button Connect My Data in December 2015, Commonwealth Edison’s
residential & small commercial customers can authorize access to their energy usage data in a secure and
standard electronic format. Green Button Connect My Data automates the process, establishes Commission-
directed authorization and eliminates the need for customers to repeatedly download and provide their
data. Customers only need to authorize access to their data once to the third-party provider who has completed
the technical requirements. Importantly, the customer has the right to revoke access whenever they choose.

At this time, National Grid, Consolidated Edison, Duquesne Light Co., Baltimore Gas & Electric, Pepco Maryland,
and Ameren Illinois were all actively planning interval data implementation that will include Green Button.

Page | 7
Moreover, any Green Button implementation
should adhere to the following principles to
optimize data access while ensuring privacy,
security, and auditability:
1. Ensure bill-quality data: Require interval
data provided by the utility to customers,
electricity suppliers, and third parties is the
same data the utility will use to bill the
customer.
2. Provide full data sets: Standardize the
availability of a requisite set of usage,
billing, and location data for historical and
ongoing data access.
3. Provide synchronous data: Once a data
request is authorized and authenticated by
a customer, data should be delivered on-
demand.
4. Adopt strong security protocols: Data
security must accommodate cloud-based
systems.
5. Ensure quality of service and
transparency: Web services and Green
Button Connect platforms must be
provided at a sufficiently high level of
service, with performance metrics reported
publicly.
6. Provide testing environment: Utilities
should provide a testing environment and a
production environment of Green Button
Connect for third-party use.
CUSTOMER RELEASE OF DATA
A customer’s authorized release of data to a
third party (and similarly, the process of the
customer simply accessing their data) must be
a simple and seamless experience. If not, the
customer will likely abandon the process of
releasing data, and programs dependent on
the use of the data will not achieve their full
potential. General principles for the customer
experience in authorizing release of data
include:
1. Authentication credentials: Information
asked of the customer for release of data
must be easily accessible and knowable
without being sensitive. For instance,
customers should not be asked to provide
their social security number or more
information than the utility itself uses to
authenticate customer identities.
2. Accept instant, digital authorization: A
digital signature (including click-through)
should be valid for authorization.
3. Ensure seamless click-through: A utility
account holder should be allowed to begin
and end the click-through process on the
third-party website. The third party may
lead the customer request for the types of
data and the time frame of data sharing,
and the customer may approve or reject
such a request at its sole discretion.
4. Standardized language: Standardized
language should be presented to the
customer to support informed consent. This
language should include, but not be limited
to, description of data, length of
authorization, purpose specification, and
revocation. This language may be in the
contract between the customer and third
party for services that will be rendered.7 The
customer should know and understand the
service they are receiving, that they are
releasing access to their data to the third
Page | 8
 party as a condition of service, that the data
will not be used other than for the
authorized purposes, and be informed of
any applicable fees and the term of the
agreement. Customers should also be
made aware that they have the ability to
terminate access to data to any third party
at will, understanding that services may
terminate simultaneously. The means by
which customers can exercise termination
of data access should be clearly stated. The
customer should also understand that the
third party’s access to its data may be
terminated for a failure to adhere to the
policies or regulations for data protection
adopted by the state commission or other
body. Third parties should not engage in
any unfair, misleading or deceptive trade
practices. The regulations should include a
dispute resolution process and must
absolve the utility of any liability for data
misuse by a third party.
FACILITATING ACCESS TO OTHER
FORMS OF DATA
Beyond making individual customer data
available to customers and their authorized
third-party providers, regulators should also
consider whether utilities should make
aggregated, anonymized customer data
available to third parties to further facilitate
development of energy products and services.
Making distribution system data available is of
equal importance to customer data, and
policymakers and regulators should consider a
range of options. One option is to incentivize
utilities to seek out third-party solutions for
meeting defined system needs instead of
pursuing traditional “poles and wires”
solutions. So-called non-wires alternatives
(NWAs) can serve as cost-effective alternatives
to equipment upgrades in situations such as
meeting load growth in constrained areas of
the grid. Under these programs utilities would
procure grid products or services instead of
making direct investments in infrastructure, and
would be incentivized to do so via appropriate
regulatory changes, such as allowing utilities to
treat the alternative investments as a regulated
asset, earning a base allowed return and
depreciating the asset over a reasonable period
of time. For this to be most effective,
appropriate data about the location and nature
of the system need and other data about the
customers in the location should be made
available through the utility’s solicitation
process, and far enough in advance of the
need, so that third-party providers are able to
develop proposals that can be compared by
the utility and its regulator in an open and
transparent manner to the traditional utility
solution. Increased reliance on NWAs also
suggests that certain information will need to
flow from the third parties providing services to
the utilities, so that utilities can ensure and
verify performance of utility-contracted
services.
Beyond these targeted deployments, making
system data available should also be part of
efforts to develop animated markets. Making
non-confidential utility system planning and
operational data available to qualified third
parties – including investment plans and data
such as DER hosting capacity – will allow third-
party providers to develop offerings to
customers and to the utility that are responsive
to customer and system needs. An example of
this is the initial development of online feeder
maps and hosting capacity analysis in
Page | 9
California, New York, Hawaii, and elsewhere,
being done as part of those states’ efforts to
more fully integrate DER on the grid. As these
states progress with these efforts, they can
serve as examples to others on the best ways to
move forward.
INCENTIVIZING ADOPTION
To animate the market for energy services,
utilities must be incentivized to develop an
accessible data platform and raise customer
awareness and understanding of opportunities
to reduce their energy usage and costs.
Furthermore, engaging customers and
encouraging them to actively utilize the data at
their fingertips is necessary for the creation of a
truly animated market. This will be more likely
to occur if data access is facilitated through
utilities’ existing customer web portals. Utilities
can also be incentivized through new business
models, opportunities to provide value-added
data services to contribute to revenue
requirements, and performance metrics that
reward them for achieving increased customer
engagement and information access. Specific
performance categories that should be
considered include customer engagement and
information access, and information access by
market participants.
Beyond these metrics, other performance
incentives may also be needed that address
other changes that would result from greater
customer engagement, such as higher DER
penetration. Also, greater benefits from access
to data will be enabled by changes to rate
designs that send more accurate price signals
to customers to encourage beneficial behavior
and DER deployment.8
SAFEGUARDING DATA
Developing regulations to protect customers
and safeguard data is vital to ensure customer
privacy and confidence in the market. First and
foremost, any personally identifiable customer
data should not be shared without the consent
of the customer. The sharing of aggregated,
anonymized data need not be subject to
consent provided it meets certain conditions.
For example, states could apply the “4/80 rule”
where the anonymized data must include at
least four customers with no one customer
accounting for more than 80 percent of the
combined load, or some other version of this
rule as a state may find acceptable.9 In addition,
regulators may want to consider what types of
preparations are in place for customers should
a breach occur, including remedies that would
be the financial and operational responsibility
of the breaching party.
Facilitating data access is premised upon the
view that customers should be the owners of
their own billing and usage data, and sharing
this data with third parties should be at the
customer’s discretion. That said, if the sharing
process between customers and third parties is
too cumbersome, very few customers are likely
to complete the process. Therefore, AEE
believes third parties should be able to initiate
a data sharing agreement on a customer’s
behalf, and the customer should be able to
provide consent through a simple “single click”
process. To further protect customers, the
utility should be required to notify the
customer, at the time of downloading or
sharing, that providing this data to another
company will entail revealing private usage
information. Customers should also be advised
P a g e | 10
to review the privacy and data handling polices
of the recipient company before sending their
information.
Data Guard Energy Data Privacy
Program
In January 2015, The U.S. Department of Energy
announced the release of Data Guard. Data Guard
is a privacy program that was created by the
Department of Energy, utilities, and third-party
stakeholders to provide companies with a
mechanism to show their commitment to protecting
customer data. With Data Guard, a utility or a third-
party energy services company commits to a
Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC). If a company
violates the VCC they could be subject to an action
for misrepresentation under Section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act or state law.10
With respect to distribution system data, states
will need to decide what level of detail to make
available and in what form, given their specific
goals for developing distribution-level markets
and engaging customers and third parties.
While states have legitimate concerns with
security, there are levels of system data that can
be provided without raising issues. Where it
exists, load information for transformers and
feeders can be given without any security risk,
although transformer and feeder locations are
more sensitive. At the same time, the benefits
of providing system data include better
competition among solutions to meet system
needs, more transparency and accountability in
the distribution planning process, and the
potential for cost savings to customers over
current utility practices. Those states that have
carefully considered collecting and making
system data available, such as California and
New York, have been moving in the direction of
making appropriate data available.
PAYING FOR DATA
AEE believes that the costs for receiving basic
customer usage data through Green Button
Connect or other similar standards should be
included in basic service rates. Such data are
being generated as a result of utility
investments that are being recovered through
rates and should therefore be made readily
available. Making such data available can
provide benefits to participating and non-
participating customers and the grid as a
whole. This does not preclude the option of
utilities charging for enhanced data services
where individual customers or companies are
making requests for non-standard or otherwise
customized data or analysis. Regulators should
consider policies over time to determine the
types of data and data services that would be
considered as enhanced services and if fees are
appropriate for accessing data in particular
ways, such as the frequency of data access.

A leading state on customer data access and privacy: California

California has taken a comprehensive regulatory approach to consumer energy data access and privacy. Starting
in 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted a series of access-to-customer data rules
culminating in Decision D.11-07-056 (July 2011), which required all three investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to make
information available to customers in a consistent manner, specifically providing customers with approximate
electricity price, actual usage, and estimated final monthly bill, updated daily. In addition, the utilities were directed

P a g e | 11
to provide bill-to-date, bill forecast data, projected month-end tiered rate, and notifications of crossing pricing
tiers. The CPUC also directed utilities to develop a process that would allow customers to utilize a Home Area
Network (HAN) to access meter data. The Commission also adopted a framework for protecting customer privacy
and differentiated “primary purposes” that did not require customer consent from “secondary purposes” that did.
It directed utilities to allow customers to share usage information with third parties with such consent and use a
standardized method for third-party access, as well as the use of a standardized customer access format. In a June
2016 Decision (D.16-06-008), the CPUC streamlined its rules by authorizing utilities to use a click-through electronic
signature process for verifying customer identity and authorizing the release of data. This decision will improve
data access and improve the user experience – critical to boosting the rates of customers that share their data.

CONCLUSION
Data is the lifeblood of today’s modern
economy. Timely and convenient access to
utility and customer data is a necessary and vital
component of moving the electric utility industry
into the digital age, unlocking value, and
engaging customers in new ways. Access to
customer data will transform how customers
manage their own energy usage and interact
with their utility, electricity supplier, and third
parties. Access to system data will also allow
third-party providers to actively participate in
developing and deploying cost-effective
solutions to traditional utility infrastructure
investments, further animating a distribution
level market, engaging customers on their
energy usage and pricing, and providing
significant customer benefits and cost savings. If
the following steps are taken, there is a real
opportunity for these benefits to be realized in
the near future.
ž Adopt foundational regulations and
technologies that enable a data-rich
environment
ž Promote universal interface standards to
exchange data between utilities, customers,
retail suppliers, and third parties
ž Incentivize utilities to raise customer
awareness and understanding of data’s
potential to reduce energy usage and costs
ž Develop strong security protocols to protect
and secure customer and electric system
data, and have plans in place to protect
customers in the event of a data breach
including financial and operational
responsibility by the breaching party.
ž Streamline the customer and third-party
authorization process to enable robust
participation
Whether this future can be realized will depend
on policymakers, regulators, utilities, third-party
providers and customers working together and
devising a plan that is suitable for all parties.

P a g e | 12
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Resource Link

Center for the New Energy Economy State Policy http://spotforcleanenergy.org/policy/customer-data-access/

Opportunity Tracker: Customer Data Access

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, on Data http://database.aceee.org/state/data-access

Access

GridWise Alliance Policy Position on Data Access & Privacy http://www.smartgridinformation.info/pdf/4887_doc_1.pdf

Issues:

EIA Assessment of Interval Data and Their Potential https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/reports/smartm

Application to Residential Electricity End Use Modeling: etering/pdf/assessment.pdf

Mission Data, Index of Mission Data Activities: http://www.missiondata.org/activities/#index

UtilityAPI, authorization, data formats, and API endpoints: https://utilityapi.com/docs

California PUC Data Privacy and Protection Decision http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/published/final_decision/140369.ht

m

END NOTES
1
http://info.aee.net/21ces-issue-briefs
2
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) is comprised of a diverse membership. As such, the information contained herein may not
represent the position of all AEE members.
3
Transactive energy describes a marketplace or network of DERs involving multi-sided transactions between utilities, third
parties, and end-use customers.
4
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/index.html. For more information see also our issue brief titled Advanced
Metering, available at http://info.aee.net/21ces-issue-briefs
5
Contracted agent status, meaning that these companies work directly on behalf of the utility, allows them to access and use
individual customer data (for defined purposes) similar to a regulated utility.
6
http://www.greenbuttondata.org/learn/
7
While inclusion in the contract between customer and third party is a potential option, some state commissions or other
bodies have already determined specific rules for authorization and access in a separate agreement between customer and
third party.
8
For more on these topics see AEE’s Issue Briefs on Performance-based Regulation and Rate Design.
9
For example, California adopted a 15/15 rule such that there are at least 15 customers in the data set where no single customer
represents more than 15% of the total consumption.
10
https://www.dataguardprivacyprogram.org/

P a g e | 13